Short-term management: The advantages of the OKR methodology

Theessence of this method is to optimise the execution of tasks that, in principle, seem extremely banal, simple to be executed, but which in reality present countless problems in the day-to-day life of organisations.

By establishing well-defined cycles for all activities, which involves constant monitoring of observed results and linking short-term objectives to each of them, OKR offers the opportunity to achieve significant improvement in the way the business is managed.

In addition to Google, LinkedIn and Twitter also use the method which outlines key objectives and outcomes as a way of aligning expectations, assessing the organisation's performance and mapping out what is going well and what is not.

With elements of Lean philosophy - which envisages delivering value quickly and consistently - the OKR methodology works for companies of all sizes. Goals are delimited in the short and long term and each is accompanied by activities for all team members. For this reason, it is important that the entire team is aligned with the company culture.

Once the activities are being fulfilled, it is possible to see how much they are impacting and generating results, as well as making it easier to perceive the status of the goal: whether it will be achieved or not. In the first case, it is easy to map which actions have contributed to success. In the second case, the methodology helps in the perception that the objectives will not be met in advance, making it possible to review actions to achieve the proposed result.

One of the main pillars of OKR is the acceleration of the management process. The basis of the method is to delineate simple key results and challenging objectives. As such, the work cycle to achieve a goal is short, making it possible to quickly identify which indicators are working and which need more attention.

The way of setting up the OKR flowchart already contributes to the acceleration of management. Collaboratively, the moment serves as validation and alignment of the OKRs. The team can discuss together what is relevant for each sector, counting on the vision of who is inside the area and who is outside, which contributes to the enrichment of the indicators.

OKRs define measurable success criteria for the company within a period. They help us measure whether we are succeeding. Within the OKRs are the KPIs - the key metrics - that we want to improve, while maintaining the values of the other KPIs. There is no point improving one KPI at the cost of knocking down several others. KPIs are chosen from our various indicators - everything we measure in the company - because they are key to our performance.

The main advantages of adopting the OKR methodology:

Agility in management

OKR uses the principles of agile methods to implement rapid management cycles, ensuring that the company adapts to changes. Thus, periodic OKRs can be defined according to the rhythm of the organisation, adjusting objectives and goals to the current situation and market opportunities. With weekly reports and evaluations it is much easier to follow progress and make corrections in time. The method also reduces risks and waste and creates an environment conducive to innovative ideas.

Alignment and cooperation between teams

Another important effect of the method is to encourage cooperation and alignment between teams. To achieve this, OKRs must be shared with all employees, bringing areas together around the same objectives. With a common goal, it is natural that efforts go in a single direction.

Increased productivity

With the whole company focused on objectives and targets set in shorter timeframes, increased productivity is an obvious consequence. Thanks to OKR's simple format, everyone knows exactly what their responsibility is and can get more done with fewer resources.

More autonomy and transparency

When goals are clear to everyone and responsibilities are distributed, it is natural that employees gain more autonomy and increase their trust in the company. This transparency is one of the strengths of the OKR methodology, which openly directs all teams and leaves professionals free to achieve their goals as they prefer.

Continuous monitoring of progress

With Key Results based KPIs, it is much more practical to continuously monitor progress towards business objectives. Key Results are goals and, unlike objectives, they should be more tangible, with clear, time-bound and well-defined metrics. Hence the importance of working with simple and trackable metrics, which can be easily monitored from the data the company generates. In addition, OKRs also allow errors to be quickly detected and corrected.

Increased engagement

Engagement is fundamental in today's business world and the OKR methodology is perfect for awakening this involvement in employees. This is because the method makes professionals feel directly connected to the company's core mission, and it is much more exciting to work with a purpose. Instead of taking orders, employees start to see their impact on the company's goals and make a solid commitment to the success of the business.

Adaptability to change

Finally, one of the great successes of the OKR methodology is its ability to adapt to change, a mandatory capability in companies. Using this method, flexibility is gained to change direction whenever necessary, according to market fluctuations, as it is much easier to update an OKR in the face of a threat or opportunity than to alter an entire strategic planning.

The OKR training offered by Setec Consulting Group presents the methodology for agile performance management, aiming to clarify all the functionalities and practical applications of the method. Are you interested? Click here and check the next dates!

This article is republished under the partnership between Nova SBE Executive Education andSetec Consulting Group » Read the original article